By Brandon Simmons
Bills Bounced out of Playoffs Due to Turnovers
Update: Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott Monday after this loss
The Denver Broncos beat the Buffalo Bills 33-30 in overtime, in a game that added to Buffalo’s troubling postseason history. Buffalo committed 5 turnovers in this game, including 4 by Bills QB Josh Allen, who had 2 picks and 2 fumbles. The turnovers were just one of the high-octane moments from this game. The Bills were down 23-10 in the 4th quarter, until Allen threw a touchdown to wide receiver Keon Coleman to make it 23-17. Allen came back with another touchdown pass, this tiem to tight end Dalton Kincaid, to make the game 24-23. The Broncos did not back down, as QB Bo Nix threw a touchdown to wide receiver Marvin Mims, Jr. to up 30-27. Then Buffalo tied the game with a field goal to go into overtime. Both teams traded defensive blows on their first OT possessions. Bills forced a low pass from Nix to end their drive and punt. However, Allen threw an interception to Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian to cut their drive short. It was 2 defensive penalties on the Bills that eventually put the Broncos in field goal range and win the game.
This was a game that could have gone either way and the Buffalo Bills will be sick, knowing that. Bills running back James Cook was amazing. He had 24 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown, but he did have one fumble. Speaking of turnovers, Bills QB Josh Allen threw for 283 yards, 3 touchdowns but had 2 interceptions that are part of his 4 turnovers. Two of those turnovers were fumbles, with one of them coming at the end of the first half that setup a field goal. The interception he threw in overtime was a great play by McMillian more than an Allen or Brandin Cooks mistake, but it was still a turnover that took away their chance to tie/win the game and gave that to Denver.
Lots of credit should go to the Denver Broncos for their performance and staying steady. The game started with the Mims injury and he ended up coming back catching a touchdown. The same can be said for Broncos wide receiver LilJordan Humphrey, who dropped a touchdown pass but came back and caught one in the 2nd quarter. QB Bo Nix threw for 279 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 pick, but unfortunately injured his ankle at some point during the game, which puts him out for the rest of the postseason. Defensively, they generated 3 sacks with defensive tackle Malcolm Roach leading the way with 1.5 sacks. Credit to Broncos head coach Sean Payton for getting this team prepared for a very tough playoff battle and coming out on top of it.
Seahawks Overpower Injured 49ers
The Seattle Seahawks blasted the San Francisco 49ers 41-6 and it was as bad as it sounds. Seahawks QB Sam Darnold – who had an oblique injury coming into the game – had a light outing throwing for 124 yards and a touchdown. To help with some of his workload, Seahawks running back Kenneth Parker had a brilliant performance of 19 carries for 116 yards and 3 touchdowns. Defensively, the Seahawks I nly had 2 sacks,with defensive end Demarcus Lawrence and defensive tackle Leonard Williams sharing one each.
This game was about the Seahawks dominance coming across the 49ers injuries. Seattle tarted the game with a 95 yard kickoff return touchdown by wide receiver Rasheed Shaheed. That one play sparked a 17-0 1st quarter, which included Seahawks QB Sam Darnold throwing a touchdown to wide receiver Jackson Smith-Njigba, a drive set up by Sehawks defensive back Earnest Jone recocering a fumble. From there, the Seahawks never looked back and didn’t have to. The San Francisco 49ers continued with the injury bug through this game as tight end Jake Tonges suffered a foot injury during the game. Seattle just proved to be too tall of a task for the 49ers to overcome.
Patriots Survive Defensive Dual
The New England Patriots beat the Houston Texans 28-16 in a game that featured more defensive highlights from each team, similar to their Wild Card wins. The Patriots defense was domineering putting on a season high 5 takeaways which included 4 interceptions and a fumble. Patriots cornerback Carlton Davis III enjoyed the most of this stat line with 2 interceptions and 4 passes deflected overall. The other recipients of picks were Patriots rookie corner Craig Woodson and cornerback Marcus Jones. Jones actually had a pick 6 that might have been an early go ahead score in this game. Offensively, the Patriots weren’t no better than last week. Patriots QB Drake Maye was sacked 5 times but threw for 179 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception.
This game was all about the defense, and they made sure you knew about them early. The crazy part about that stat line was that it all happened within the first half of this game. In the 1st quarter, Patriots cornerback Carlton Davis III made a sideline pick off of an overthrow. Same thing happened in the 2nd quarter before the half ended. Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones holds the honor of maybe making the biggest play of the game with his pick 6. Texans QB C.J. Stroud was under pressure and the hit forced him to throw an errant pass and Jones caught it t run it back for 6. New England has been a great offensive team statistically in the regular season, but their postseason outings have shown different. Back to back games where Maye has been sacked 5 times and throwns for under 200 yards. Despite that, the patriots still come away with win on this playoff run, mostly due to what the defense has to offer.
Rams Survive Bears Mini Comeback
The Los Angeles Rams withstood the Chicago Bears small comeback attempt in 20-17 overtime thriller. It was a close game tied at halftime and scoreless in the 3rd quarter. However, when the 4th quarter came around, each team traded touchdowns like haymakers. Rams running back Kyren Wiliams scored a rushing touchdown on a log 14 yard drive near the top of the 4th quarter. Later on, the Bears would respond with a touchdown pass from QB Caleb Williams who connected with tight end Cole Kmet on a 14 yard touchdown pass to tie the game. In overtime, the craziness continued. The bears defense stopped Rams running back Blake Corum in the backfield, so Los Angeles had to punt. The Bears were making strides down the field, including a couple of scramble plays by Williams to get first first downs. But Williams threw a pick to Rams defensive back Cameron Curl, giving the Rams back the ball. The rams drove down the field and kicked the game winning field goal.
It should not go unnoticed how good this Bears team was in this game as far as competing, something they have learned to do this year. Bears safety Jaquan Brisker was all over the place defensively. He had 14 tackles overall, but also a sack and a tackle for loss. In the 1st quarter, he had a sequence of doing these things in one series, that also include a pass breakup on 3rd down. However, when it comes to putting a spotlight on players, Bears QB Caleb Willimas might need one. Williams did throw 3 interceptions, but he also thew the game tying touchdown, while evading a sack at least 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
As for the Rams, they did not allow for any momentum to switch over to the Bears at all. It started in the 1st quarter when Rams safety Cobie Durant made a pick. Durant also made one during the 3rd quarter to kill a drive. Curl’s pick came at a perfect time when the Bears were driving down the field to score the game winning field goal; obviously those plans transferred back to the Rams who ended up with the game winning score. Rams running back Kyren Williams played well through these snowy conditions, providing the team2 touchdowns on long drives and extending said drives. Rams QB Matthew Stafford had 258 yards in the snow and was able to get plays out of this receiving group. This included a 35 yard catch and run to tight end Colby Parkinson and a 3rd down conversion to wide receiver Puka Nukua; both coming at the top of the 4th quarter. The Rams knew they were going to have to fight all 4 quarters against a comeback-heavy team such as the Bears and they met the challenge at every step.
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